Downtown Newton Launches Crowdfunding Platform

NEWTON, NC (March 12, 2018)—Downtown Newton is preparing to grow and support a new local business, Narrow Coffee & Nosh, through a crowdfunding platform that will give everyone the chance to have a stake in the city’s future.

TLC Newton is a locally based crowdfunding platform that empowers individuals to support the businesses, organizations, and initiatives that have a positive impact on Downtown Newton. Crowdfunding, or the practice of raising funds to support a project from a large number of people, is a viable way to support local business expansion.

Narrow Coffee & Nosh, which will open soon at 13 North College Ave., will serve locally roasted coffee and espresso along with locally sourced seasonal produce for their made-from-scratch sandwiches and soups. Located in a uniquely narrow space on the 1924 Courthouse Square in Downtown Newton, the café will be open early to serve the public before work and offer lunch items.

Funds are being raised through the TLC Newton website, www.thelocalcrowd.com/communities/newton. In addition to supporting new business development, donors to the campaign will be offered a selection of special prizes based on the amount they donate.

The crowdfunding platform is made possible through a partnership between Downtown Newton Development Association and The Local Crowd, a Wyoming-based company that received a Small Business Innovation Research Grant from USDA to establish crowdfunding demonstration sites across the country. Downtown Newton is one of ten organizations across the country chosen to host the platform and gauge its effectiveness in rural areas. The Local Crowd’s platform offers features and educational programs designed to help rural communities activate entrepreneurial ecosystems and spur local investment. The ultimate goal of the platform is commercializing a new tool that provides better access to capital for businesses and organizations across rural America.

Narrow Coffee & Nosh was selected as the first business to use the crowdfunding platform after a review of campaign proposals from businesses and organizations seeking to implement programming that has a positive impact in Downtown Newton. Downtown Newton will conduct about two crowdfunding campaigns each year with the hope of boosting economic success one business at a time. Downtown Newton Development Association cultivates entrepreneurship and mixed used development embracing cultural, visual, and performing arts along with preserving the history of Downtown Newton, thus creating a safe and active family lifestyle.

For more information, please contact Newton Main Street Program manager Shannon Johnson at sjohnson@newtonnc.gov or 828-695-4360.